So, having come to the conclusion that we needed to look outside Sydney for a permanent home, we started looking. Did we want to move back to Brisbane? No (too hot). Did we want to move south of Sydney? No (not hot enough). So we started looking between Brisbane and Sydney. And then one day, when we were taking a break, we ended up in the Coffs Harbour area.
Coffs is a bottleneck on the main Pacific Highway, which is how most people think of it. But it’s also a sunny holiday resort with some beautiful beaches and lovely hinterland.
We looked at a lot of different plots. We found land here was significantly cheaper than similar sized plots closer to Sydney. Some of the plots we saw, like the one on the left, was on a huge estate, on a steep site, some way out of town. Others were on low lying land next to a creek. There seemed to be a lot of construction around but none of the sites we saw really appealed. We hoped to be a bit closer to the beaches. And then we found a little place called Woolgoolga, about 20 minutes north of Coffs Harbour.
Woolgoolga is popular with holiday makers – lots of ritzy holiday homes facing out to sea, three caravan/campervan sites, motels, etc. It’s famous for being the site of the first Sikh temple in Australia. There’s a large Sikh community, many of whom own or work on local blueberry and banana farms. It’s not a big place, with a population of only just over 6,000 when it’s not holiday season (a lot more when it is). There are a few shops, including a supermarket, and plenty of cafes and restaurants. And it has a great beach:
And this was where we found what we were looking for –
We spoke to the sales rep in a show home at the bottom of the road who told us there was one lot still for sale. All the other lots on the estate seemed to have been taken – but just one, Lot 325 was available. The sales rep warned us away from it because it had been terraced but when we spoke to a builder, he said that would be no problem. So we put down a deposit, hired the builder and we were off!
